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Bauchman, Rangers blow out Concord Carlisle

Saturday, January, 15 By Kevin McDonald

METHUEN — Matt Bauchman scored four times to propel Methuen to the 6-2 victory over Concord-Carlisle.

“He’s got superb offensive skills," said Methuen coach Denny Egan. "He’s good with the puck,knows where the net is. He waits that split second for the goalie to commit andhe makes his move.”

Bauchman scored three goals in succession, a natural hat trick. He added his fourth goal early in the third period.

“I’m just a weapon, I guess," said Bauchman. "I think my line-mates though, Tyler (Murphy) andJordan (Blatti), they feed me the puck every chance they can.”

This is the second straight 4-goal game for Bauchman. His season total is now 15, which is only three goals away from his total last season. He scored only 1:22 into the game and was assisted by defensemen T.J. Gannon and forward Jared McAdam. Bauchman scored the next two.

McAdam scored with 24 seconds left to cap off a four goal first period. The Rangers never looked back and held on to win. They scored two more goals, one from senior captain Mike Lima and Bauchman's fourth, to keep the game out of reach for the Patriots.

Goalie Cam Conway made 22 saves on 24 shots for a .917 save percentage. Many of his saves came on a Concord Carlisle power play late in the third period. Mike O'Brien and Nick McCormack scored the only goals for Concord Carlisle.

Patriots goalie Graham Hunt was pulled after McAdam's goal in the first after allowing four goals on seven shots. Steven Saul replaced him for the period, with Hunt coming back for the game at the beginning of the second.

It was a strong showing for the Rangers, who are currently 4-5-0 after the win. Coach Egan stressed that it was an important game for the team.

“The players knew how we felt about this game. We have tostart keeping up with the teams in our league, and this is a team in our league.It’s nice to win against a team in our league.”

Methuen has played strong since its 2-0 loss to Boston Latin Academy on Sunday. In the two games since, the Rangers have scored 16 goals, half of which came from Matt Bauchman.

“We started to come together in Arlington," said coach Egan. "We had anopportunity to win that game and we didn't, and we played pretty well againstBoston Latin, but we have been progressing. We lost 14 players lastyear, so we knew it would take time to hit our stride.” 

Matt Bauchman showed a humble side with his hopes for the remainder of the season.

“I want to keep us winning and having fun. It’s not allabout me, it’s about the team.”

The Rangers play Watertown on Monday at home. The puck drops at noon.